Neuhardenberg - Prussian memorial sites

Reward for a lifesaver

In 1759, during the Battle of Kunersdorf, the cavalry captain Joachim Bernhard von Prittwitz (1726-93) covered the retreat of Frederick the Great, thus saving him from being captured. Frederick II rewarded his saviour by giving him the Schloss Quilitz castle. Joachim Bernhard von Prittwitz erected a monument of Frederick II in the castle grounds in 1792. It is the oldest monument of Frederick II.

Quilitz becomes Neuhardenberg

The state chancellor Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg receives the estate as a gift from King Frederick William III in 1814. The municipality is renamed Neuhardenberg in honour of the Prussian reformer. The reconstruction of the castle also takes place in the time of the state chancellor according to plans drawn up by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The park is also redesigned and expanded in 1821. Hermann Fürst von Pückler-Muskau, a son-in-law of the Prince of Hardenberg, also influences the plans for this drawn up by the landscape gardener Peter Joseph Lenné.

Neuhardenberg Palace today

The most important interiors from the Prittwitz period are preserved in the castle that was transformed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The adjoining coach houses and the marble monument of Frederick II also bear witness to this period. A gravestone designed by Schinkel in front of the altar in the church is a reminder of General von Prittwitz and his wife. Neuhardenberg Palace is now a hotel, conference and event venue with an art and cultural programme, as well as a memorial to the resistance of July 20, 1944 and a museum. The castle grounds, which are open to visitors all year round, is a sight worth visiting.